Goku Breaks Through

Just like that, Wuchen and Korin's game of chase continued into the night.

After learning about cultivation and the basic methods of practicing it, Korin showed great interest.

However, he didn't try it right away. When bedtime came, he simply went to sleep, gave Wuchen a place to rest, and handed him a bean for dinner.

Wuchen, however, couldn't sleep, and he didn't eat the bean either. Goku hadn't finished yet; he sat motionless with his legs crossed.

"By tomorrow morning, Goku should be able to break through." Wuchen sat down nearby to protect him.

Of course, he wasn't worried that Goku would be disturbed. He was concerned that something might go wrong with Goku's cultivation. By then, Goku had already comprehended four attributes: water, fire, wood, and earth.

Although these four attributes followed an ordered cycle of generation and restraint, one link was still missing, so he had to be careful.

Still, Wuchen had underestimated Goku.

Within Goku's Consciousness Realm, the three Origin Souls—one large and two small—coexisted in relative harmony.

The two smaller ones, one black and one green, were the Origin Souls of water and wood.

The slightly larger one was red. It was the Mother Soul that had first acquired the fire attribute.

The Mother Soul was divided into an outer and inner part. Its core was yellowish, and earth—thick and enduring—was taking shape within it.

Earth and fire generated and restrained each other, so they had to be kept in balance.

Fire could generate earth, but too much earth would smother fire, while too much fire would scorch earth. At that moment, Goku was using strong fire to generate weak earth, which risked scorching it.

So Goku used strong water to weaken the fire, then used weak water to nourish the weak earth.

At the same time, he had to use wood to stoke the fire, then use its ashes to strengthen the earth. The balance was difficult to maintain.

Goku was innocent and unworldly, but he was no dullard. With Wuchen's years of guidance, he managed the process in an orderly fashion, keeping the attributes in good balance.

The earth within the fire was moistened, then dried, then moistened and dried again. It gradually grew stronger until it completely filled the Mother Soul's core.

Then the Mother Soul developed patterns. As they cracked, a brand-new Origin Soul "hatched," pale yellow in color: the newly born Earth Soul.

Meanwhile, the fire-aligned Mother Soul gradually recovered, though its core was now hollow. It would need to gather essence and condense a soul to fill its heart again. Only then could it acquire another attribute and condense a new soul.

Of course, that wouldn't happen overnight. Goku had completed his breakthrough, advancing to the fourth heaven of Soul Condensation!

He released the energy and slowly opened his eyes. A ray of sunlight coming through the round window fell across his knees. Yes, it was already the next day.

"Goku, well done." Wuchen immediately stepped forward and pressed two fingers against Goku's forehead. After sensing him for a moment, Wuchen's face broke into a smile.

"Big Brother, I broke through!" Goku was overjoyed, though he still had some doubts. "But, Big Brother, my realm doesn't seem stable. I can't control my essence very well, and it's much worse than after my previous breakthroughs."

"Don't worry, that's normal. You have four souls coexisting now, but you're still missing metal. Only then will the cycle of generation and restraint among the five elements be complete."

"Besides, you just broke through. Even among your fire, water, wood, and earth attributes, some are stronger than others, so their cycles of generation and restraint aren't balanced."

"As long as you proceed steadily, it'll be fine. But your next Origin Soul must have the metal attribute. Once you've gathered all five elements, use the five elemental souls as your foundation to complete 'Seal Consciousness.' Then your Consciousness Realm will stabilize, and things will go much more smoothly."

"Yes, Big Brother. I understand." With his concerns put to rest, Goku was incredibly excited.

Korin also looked deeply curious. Although he didn't quite understand, he could sense the mysterious aura lingering around Goku.

It felt completely different from ki. He couldn't help but remember the special cultivation Wuchen had mentioned the day before.

"Is this the spiritual energy you were talking about?" Korin asked Wuchen.

"Who are you?" Only then did Goku notice where he was—and Korin's presence.

"Goku, this is Korin, and we're at the top of Korin Tower. It was thanks to Korin that we were able to stay here, so you could break through safely," Wuchen explained at just the right moment.

He and Goku also thanked Korin.

Then, picking up where their conversation the day before had left off, Wuchen continued to explain the principles of cultivation to Korin. "It's a little different from spiritual energy... Goku, Master Roshi, and I—we three all..."

While explaining, Wuchen casually tossed the bean in his hand into his mouth. It was the dinner Korin had given him the previous night~

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

The bean was surprisingly crisp. It made a good snack.

Wuchen chewed it a few times and swallowed. Gulp.

But the moment it went down, it expanded.

"Hic~!" He instinctively covered his mouth, hardly able to believe it.

He had been a little hungry, which was why he'd eaten the bean without thinking.

He hadn't expected the tiny bean to fill him up the instant he swallowed it—not just fill him, but leave him stuffed. It seemed to contain all the nutrients his body needed!

On top of that, he felt his stamina restored, and his body was in peak condition!

Yes, it all happened in an instant! Was this bean really that easy to digest?

The only disappointing thing was that it didn't seem to restore spiritual energy or essence.

"Korin, this bean, it..." It wasn't that Wuchen lacked experience. He had seen plenty of medicinal pills and rare treasures that healed injuries or restored strength, and some had been even more effective than this bean.

But last night, he had clearly seen Korin take it from a jar—and that jar had been packed full!

"How is it? Pretty good, right? That thing's called a Senzu Bean. Eat one, and you won't need to eat for ten days, meow~"

Korin looked rather proud. He was the only one who had Senzu Beans; you couldn't get them anywhere else.

"Yeah, it's amazing. But does it also heal injuries?"

"That's right. No matter how serious the injury, one bean will heal it instantly and leave you feeling refreshed." As he spoke, Korin tossed a Senzu Bean to Goku.

"Hic!" Goku swallowed it in one gulp and replied with a burp of his own. "I'm really full! Hic!"

"Korin, I was wondering if you could..." Wuchen trailed off. He wanted some to study, but felt too embarrassed to ask.

"Here." As if he had seen how much Wuchen wanted them, Korin stood up, opened the cabinet beside the bed, and handed Wuchen a sealed jar.

There seemed to be two or three more jars inside the cabinet.

"Thank you, Korin." Wuchen took the jar. It was heavy, which left him astonished.

By the standards of this world, the Senzu Beans and jar together weighed about six pounds. There had to be at least five pounds of beans inside!

"Don't mention it. Senzu Beans are difficult to grow, but I've built up quite a stock over the past few centuries, meow~"

Korin waved his hand—or paw—dismissively, then added, "Go on, keep explaining. How do you open up that space inside your mind?"

"The Consciousness Realm is..."

Just like that, Wuchen successfully drew Korin into the ranks of cultivators. Before long, Korin would probably become a new producer of spiritual energy.

And he would surely be one of the most efficient.